Favored. Home Crowd. Humiliated. USMNT Crushed 4-1 by Belgium

Summary

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Dan Bernstein Unfiltered – July 7, 2026

Episode: Favored. Home Crowd. Humiliated. USMNT Crushed 4-1 by Belgium
Host: Dan Bernstein
Co-host: Matt Abbatacola
Podcast: 312 Sports

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dan Bernstein and co-host Matt Abbatacola dissect the United States Men’s National Team’s humiliating 4-1 World Cup defeat to Belgium — a match played on home soil in Seattle where the US was a favorite. The hosts deliver their signature blend of sports insight and Chicago-style sharp, unfiltered humor. Their wide-ranging discussion covers the comedy of American soccer’s failures, the state of sports broadcasts, reactions from fans and broadcasters, the broader context of blowout losses, and some passionate digressions on local politics, other sports, and even prehistoric “hobbits.”
Listener Note: All timestamps below refer to MM:SS of episode content, skipping advertisements and promos.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Reactions to USMNT’s 4-1 Loss

• Setting the Scene:
  The match took place in Seattle, Washington, with heavy American hype and high expectations.
• Dan’s Candid Reaction:
  “That is the hardest I've laughed watching a sporting event in I don't know how long.” (01:43)
  Bernstein describes how he was “folded in half” laughing at US errors, especially the third Belgian goal, calling it pure sports comedy gold.

The "Butt Fumble of Soccer"

• Infamous Third Goal Breakdown:
  A sequence involving American goalkeeper Matt Freese results in a slapstick goal. Dan likens it to the NFL’s notorious “butt fumble”:
  • Freese misplays a bouncing ball outside the box, can’t use his hands, and tries to clear with his left foot, but “stubs his toe” and whiffs completely.
  • The Belgian forward nabs the ball, passes, and with defender Tim Ream (age 38) overrunning and flailing, the ball easily finds the net.
  • “That was the butt fumble of soccer.” (06:00)
  • “He goes into some sort of spasmodic version of Riverdance… the ball goes right in the net and the game's essentially over.” — Dan (10:19)
  • “If you don’t appreciate the comedy of that goal… you have no sense of humor.” (11:03)

On the Embarrassment of Losing as Favorites

• Context Matters:
  “You're at home in your home country… with all the buildup. You were favored.” (11:00)
• No Dignity in Broadcast Spin:
  Fox’s “please don't turn off” desperation is lampooned heavily.
  • “They sounded terrified. Like, have some dignity. Do your damn jobs.” — Dan (21:18)
  • “Stay with us here. Lots of time left. It's a great sport. Lots of time left.” — Matt mocking Fox's pleas (21:30)

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2. How Bad Was 4-1? Americanizing the Blowout

• Relatable Analogies:
  Matt frames the defeat in terms familiar to US fans:
  • “A 4 to 1 soccer loss is equivalent to a 28 to 7 loss in American football, a 15 to 18 point loss in basketball, or a 4-5 goal blowout in hockey.” (14:01)
• Bernstein sums it up: “Not our day, right?” (14:44)

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3. Telemundo vs. Fox: Where to Watch Soccer

• Bernstein’s Preference:
  “I watch the games on Telemundo because I can’t stand the production on Fox... Telemundo, they're about the game. They're not here to be glazing American soccer or telling you what you should think.” (03:54, 19:49)
• Critique of Fox:
  • Too many cutaways/pandering, lacking focus on actual match.
  • Desperation of American producers to sell the game is “off-putting and palpable.”
  • “The desperation is so off putting… they're just calling the game on Telemundo.” (23:49)

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4. US Soccer Culture: Player & Generational Reflections

• On the US Team’s Identity and Pressure:

  • “They had no business being on the same field as that team.” (11:35)
  • Talks about the failure to meet expectations for a “breakthrough moment,” comparing the hype to the Landon Donovan years. (28:06)

• On Christian Pulisic's Disappearance:

  • Noted that the Telemundo commentators didn’t mention star player Pulisic until the 22-minute mark, then he exited the match early without major impact. (20:45)
  • “He was done…you never know with these guys. They milk every injury.” (20:48)

• Youth Soccer Side-Note:

  • Dan and Matt both admit neither cared much for soccer as kids.
  • “Those are very good reasons. Those are really… I didn’t want to, you know, raise a…[kid who didn’t find his passion].” (22:54)

• US Women’s Team Comparison:

  • Reminder of USWNT success (4 World Cups): “...they always win. They're always considered a contender, like an actual contender. But they had to…sue to be treated the same way…” (28:16)

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5. Belgian Legends, Comedy, and Player Profiles

• Lukaku Appreciation:
  • Dan, on Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku: “Old and fat. He's apparently a legend…he's the Belgian goat.” (15:07)
  • Matt: “He's only 33.” (15:57)
  • Dan: “He looks 53.”
• Comedy of Sporting Mishaps:
  • Dan draws parallels to other all-time sports fails:
    • “That is right there… with Jose Canseco with the ball off his head. That is there with the butt fumble.” (21:31)

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6. Wider World Cup and Sporting Interests

• What’s Next in the Tournament:
  • Discussion of upcoming bracket: Argentina-Egypt, Switzerland-Colombia, France-Morocco, Spain-Belgium, Norway-England. Matt’s excited to watch Erling Haaland play for Norway. (24:43)
  • Lighter digression on Haaland in NYC, enjoying a Katz’s pastrami sandwich:
    • “He was so overwhelmed with endorphins and joy.” (26:12)

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7. Chicago Bears Stadium Saga – Investigative Journalism, Politics & Rants

(34:08–47:15)

• Fox 32’s Actual Reporting on Proposed Indiana Bears Stadium (33:36)
  • Details obstacles: land rights, protected wetlands, federal property, and displacement concerns for residents and businesses.
  • Mayor Tom McDermott’s controversial statement:
    • “If anything is taken, it's just a business and usually a very old business that's not going to break a lot of hearts if it goes away.” (36:49)
    • Dan’s response: “Those are your constituents. So a very old business you can just take away. … If you have a pretty old business, maybe it's been in the family…” (36:49)
• Rant on Media and Ownership Flacks
  • “Stop asking Mark Ganis what he thinks about any of this stuff. … He's making people dumber. He’s saying stuff he knows is wrong.” (47:15)
• Takeaway: Chicago sports media too often favors ownership’s side, failing to ask the hard questions or protect small/local interests.

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8. Baseball Notes and Bonus Segments

• Miguel Vargas All-Star Nod:
  • Dan congratulates Cubs’ Miguel Vargas for his breakout season, referencing detailed advanced stats (BABIP, WAR, etc.). (47:15)
• Other Sports and Oddities:
  • Quick update on Mark Sanchez and his “butt fumble” legacy and subsequent legal issues. (31:06)
  • Segment on Renaissance Fair tickets and event promos, with amusing banter about people-watching and turkey legs. (51:49)

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9. Wild Science Tangents (“Only on DBU…”)

• Nature Documentaries and Deep Sea Oddballs:
  • Dan discovers “bony-eared ass fish” and the Homo floresiensis “hobbits”:
    • “Long time ago, on a lush tropical island, a population of hobbits ventured into a cave to scavenge the kills of dragons. You with me? This is not a Tolkien tale.” (56:39)
    • “So the hobbits were short, slow, and they couldn’t throw. They know this somehow from their stature. They’re unconducive for running and throwing. So they couldn’t hunt. … They would let the Komodo dragons hunt for them.” (60:19)
  • Continual jokes about the fish and the oddness of such science headlines.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “That was the butt fumble of soccer.” — Dan Bernstein (06:00)
• “He goes into some sort of spasmodic version of River Dance.” — Dan Bernstein describing Tim Ream (10:19)
• “If you don’t appreciate the comedy of that goal, this is your moment…you have no sense of humor or no appreciation for comedy in sports.” — Dan (11:03)
• On Fox’s desperation: “Please, like my sport…I'll give you five dollars and everything somehow will be fine. And candy. Candy! Candy will bring you candy. Come on, guys. Like, have some dignity.” — Dan (21:18)
• “A 4 to 1 soccer loss is equivalent to a 28 to 7 loss in American football.” — Matt (14:01)
• On Lukaku: “He looks 53.” — Dan (15:59)
• “If anything is taken, it's just a business and usually a very old business that's not going to break a lot of hearts if it goes away.” — Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott, quoted by Dan (36:49)
• “He kicked the ground. He kicked directly into the ground. … Oh no, I kicked. I don’t have the ball. Oh, it’s okay. You get. You got that? Stop it, Tim.” — Dan (28:29)
• “Don’t sleep on the bony eared ass fish, Tanya.” — Dan (61:35)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• USMNT Humiliation and Main Game Analysis: 01:43 – 16:03
• Relative Severity of the 4-1 Loss (US analogies): 13:31 – 14:44
• Telemundo vs. Fox Production/Broadcast Takes: 03:54 – 04:28, 19:49 – 24:43
• Belgium’s Domination and Lukaku Banter: 14:55 – 17:11
• Baseball & “Butt Fumble” Updates: 31:06 – 33:08
• Chicago Bears Stadium Discussion: 33:36 – 47:15
• Renaissance Fair Tickets & Event Bants: 51:49 – 53:34
• Nature Digs (“Hobbits” and “Bony-Eared Ass Fish”): 53:34 – 61:58

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Final Thoughts

Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola deliver an unfiltered, comic, and deeply Chicago take on the U.S. soccer debacle, broadcast failings, and local sports shenanigans. Their blend of sports breakdown, cultural criticism, and random flights of scientific fancy ensures listeners get a lot more than just a box score.
Summary in one line:
“If you want smart irreverence on sport, society, and ass fish — with a dash of righteous civic anger — this is your show.”

Transcript

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[Dan Bernstein]

Seattle.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Correct. Seattle in the United States. Seattle, Washington.

[Dan Bernstein]

Got it. Okay.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

That's where the soccer game was played.

[Dan Bernstein]

Cool. Dan Bernstein unfilled on three.

[MyBookie Announcer]

One, two.

[Dan Bernstein]

You did it to me. You can't do it for dbu. You can't because you do it for forward progress. That's. That's dirty pool from you right there, mister. Don't make your face. God, you're such a child. It's unbelievable. Seriously, it is absolutely unbelievable. All right, forget it. This is Dan Bernstein, unfiltered. And we are brought to you in partnership. I'm glad you're choking on your coffee. I am. And turning purple. Yeah, keep doing that. Brought to you in partnership with my bookie. If you.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

What? I'm still. I'm thinking about the game still. I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at this. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. That is last night. That is the hardest I've laughed watching a sporting event in I don't know how long.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I wish I could have seen you.

[Dan Bernstein]

I was absolutely folded in half. I was laughing so hard at that third goal. If you did not find that funny, something is wrong with you. You have no sense of humor or no sense of comedy in sports. If you don't find that third goal funny. Well, first of all, I missed the first goal.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I did too.

[Dan Bernstein]

I missed the first goal because I had to stop at Mariano's. And I go in and they changed all of the. The price tags. Now you can't see if it's yellow if it's on sale. And then it's a fake sale. You gotta buy five of them. And then you get all confused. So it's taking me longer at Mariana's right now. And I realized that Cheez its or buy one, get one free. So I went back and I Got an extra box of Cheez Its. And it just took me longer than I thought. So I get home and they're already losing. Like, what the hell, man? Like, not even to think about my DBU pick of it. Going to penalty games. We're not going to talk about that ever. Ever.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah. Yesterday was a bad day for the DVU picks.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Real bad for everybody involved. We're. We're due. We were due for a stinker out there, but, man, so it's already like, what the hell is one? Nothing. It's good. Game's over already. So they score. They get the set piece and the direct kick, and they set up the wall, and it hits a guy in the head and it goes in. Here we go. Okay, let's get ready for some soccer. Open wide for some soccer. And then it's like, go. You almost killed Andre's. My God, you're gonna. You're gonna kill the poor man. How old is my guy? Andy Kantor? I think Andy Cantor's gotta be 65 years old by now. Gotta be, right? So. So it's Andy. And he barely had finished the whole. And it was a good long double go. And he.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

And he's.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he. My daughter's like, what the hell is that? I said, hey, that's Andy Kanter, man. You let him ride. You let that man Cook.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

63.

[Dan Bernstein]

63. Okay. That's what he does. And I watch the games on Telemundo because I can't stand the production on Fox. I love the direction on Telemundo.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

It's just.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's just better because it's about the game and it's not about the stupid. And Fox spends way too much time with cutaways and the close ups of people I'm not interested in. And you have all the people bloviating and trying to sell you the game. And on Telemunda, they don't do that. They know they love the game. They don't try to sell it to you. It's not a please love my sport toned anything you don't have.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Well, in Fox last night, it wasn't like, please love my sport. It was, please don't turn off.

[Dan Bernstein]

We'll get to that.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Don't worry.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, don't you worry.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Because, yeah, we took the dogs for a walk. I jumped in late, and they were

[Dan Bernstein]

down and clinging to our legs. Who are those? Broadcasters. And wait, get off my leg. Stop trying to hump me about soccer.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah. So they were down one, nothing. Then they tied it, and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna settle in. We're back to a game. And then two to one. Yeah. I was like, oh. And then it was like. But, hey, don't go away, though, because this is great. It's great for America.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's a great sport. Heroic performance by America.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Okay, you'll get to it. Sorry.

[Dan Bernstein]

Fucking clown show.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

That was.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I'm telling you, first of all, they go, do, do, do, do. Then the big tall guy heads it in, and now it's like, oh, yeah, we just needed to go score 60 seconds or something like that.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, it was. It was pretty close.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, off goes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, it was still echoing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it was.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

So it's like a hockey game where the horn is still echoing.

[Dan Bernstein]

No. It reminds me of what we used to say about DeMar DeRozan when he was on the Bulls, because, you know, he'd use up 18 seconds of the shot clock, and he'd stand there and he'd pump fake, and he'd pump fake, and he'd pump fake, and he'd hit a contested 21 footer. He'd be like, Damar Dura. Three point field goal. Yeah. Guy you've never heard of, awesome young player. You've never heard of. Three point field Demar. Three point field goal. It was the same. This is something. Let me just say this. That was the butt fumble of soccer.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yes.

[Stacky Benjamin Show Announcer]

If you.

[Dan Bernstein]

If you break down frame by frame, what is going on in that play? That is the butt fumble. That is Mark Sanchez running into his own guy, falling on his ass and fumbling the ball. And now, especially now, we know that Mark Sanchez is a bad guy. It makes it even funnier that it happened to Mark Sanchez after that whole incident. If you follow the tweets, if you follow the Fox Sports tweets, Belgium takes an early lead, and then they show the first goal. And the first goal, it wasn't. It was pretty bad. It wasn't horrible. But just the fact, you know, it's a loose ball. There's all the chaos that's going on, and one guy just sort of runs through everybody, and then he just pokes it in. And the goalie put his hands on like he was offsides. No. No, he wasn't. So there's that, and then there's. It's all caps and Fox Sports lightning strikes twice. It's Malik Tillman from the free kick again for the smnt. And then Belgium retakes the lead. And I just. I don't know exactly what to say about the next one. All it says is Belgium finds a third and Matt Fries is the goalie. I don't know anything about him. But the frame by frame as they are bringing the ball up, they try for a long pass to the middle of the field that goes too far and it goes over the head and it's bouncing toward the goal. So he comes out of the box to play it. Now when he's out of the box, he can't touch the ball with his hands. So what does he do? He's the guy in, you know, bright yellow, savannah, banana yellow. And he comes out and he chests the ball down. Okay, great. The striker overruns him. So he's behind him and then the goalie is ready to take a big left footed swing to clear the ball out of harm's way. But what happens? He stubs his toe. He absolutely. His left toe goes directly into the ground. And then he realizes, whoa, whoa, no. Like I tried to kick it and I didn't kick it. And the ball is still here. But he doesn't know where the Belgian striker is. He can't see him because he's behind him. So freeze tries to then come play the ball. And then the Belgian runs around and just takes it from him, just kicks it away from him, kicks it right to his teammate. And his teammate sees that the goalie is standing in front of him like 40 yards out of his goal. He's just wandering around, going to the zoo. So he kicks it in the vicinity of the net. Well, that's okay, cuz luckily we got a man there. The US has a guy there, right there, sees the ball and he is standing at the penalty spot, like within, within two feet of the penalty spot. And then what happens? He sees the ball. This guy's name is Reem. Re A M is the defender. And I think he's old, right?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I don't know. He tried to stop it with. And he.

[Dan Bernstein]

But he didn't. Tim Ream is the last man. But it's okay that the goalie screwed up at this point. It's okay that the goalie tried to boom the ball with his left foot, but he kicked his foot directly into the ground. It's okay that he allowed the guy behind him to take the ball away and kick it to his teammate. Everything's fine. It's okay. A defender has done his job. He has. He is swept in from behind to make sure that he's the last line of defense.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

He's 38, by the way. Tim Ream, that's too old.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, apparently it was too old. So this. Then it's like, okay, Tim Ream is there as the ball is not kicked very hard. It's just rolling at him, but instead of stopping it, instead of kicking it away, it's kicked directly at him. He goes into some sort of spasmodic version of River Dance. He's doing some sort of like a Lord of the Dance bit. And he. I don't know how he overruns the ball, but he does. And the ball's behind him, and he kind of, as an afterthought, kicks his leg behind him and nothing happens, and the ball goes right in the net and the game's essentially over.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

Every time. They showed it every single time. You can put whatever music you want to that, but if you don't appreciate the comedy of that goal, this is your moment. You're at home in your home country. You're in Seattle. You haven't traveled to some far flung hamlet across the globe. You're. This is happening in the United States with all the buildup. You were favored.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yep.

[Dan Bernstein]

You were favored to win the game. And you're your own goalie. You might have come back. You know, you're only down to one. You can go down. And they probably wouldn't have because they. I mean, they're just. They had no business being on the same field as that team. But here you are. Here's your chance. And what. And then the golden. Then freeze does the surrender cobra. All you needed was the Ron Santo, Brandt Brown. Oh, no. So I didn't hear it on Fox because I was watching Telemundo and they were having some fun with it, and I don't know how many times they showed it on Fox. They kept showing it on Telemundo a couple times.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, because that's got a. Got a good view of his foot getting stuck in the grass.

[Dan Bernstein]

They show the field. Field level camera, too. They give you the angle from. From basically the referee.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

The referee view.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes, basically from what Tim Ream saw. And by the way, what's up with that referee?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

What was wrong with him?

[Dan Bernstein]

What's it with his head? Okay. Is that normal? Do soccer referees normally have heads like that?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Again, I watched the game. When I turned on, I was watching, and then I turned off early. So I. Dude. I mean, I had it on. My eyes were. Were looking at the tv. Dan. I can't really say that I get it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, no, I get it.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I was. It's just it. It felt like it was over after the 2 to 1.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, of course, it did. Because they're like, all right, I gotta go score another goal. Fine. Here you go. Doink.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

So as you mentioned, too, that it's. They were favored to win that game.

[Dan Bernstein]

He kicked the ground and then like, oh, no. Because you could see him panic.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, yeah, you could.

[Dan Bernstein]

He knew because he didn quite know where the defender was.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

The second stuck in the ground. I'm just gonna.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm just gonna clear this out of here. That's. Look, that. That's. We've all done it. We've all had moments like that. But in that moment, you're. Oh, my God, man. So you doing.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

If you don't watch a lot of soccer, which I don't, and I'll admit I don't watch a ton of soccer. I watch, you know, I'll watch Lionel Messi, you know, so I'll watch all the Argentina games in the World cup and I might watch games be placed for if I happen to be by the TV and Miami's playing, I'll watch him. But if you're not familiar with what a 4 to 1 loss is equivalent to or what that's like, you might think four to one hockey.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think. I think hockey, it's like, yeah, it's a bad loss.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

So in football, American football, American football, real football, that'd be like losing 28 to seven. Okay. A four to one soccer loss is equivalent to a 28 to seven losses

[Dan Bernstein]

or touchdowns to one touchdown.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

In hockey, that'd be like a four or five goal blowout.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Okay. So you lose, you know, four nothing. Five one. We can, you know, relate to that. Basketball, it's like a 15 to 18 point loss. So your team loses 118 to 100. That's. It's kind of like what a 41 loss is. In baseball, it'd be losing by like five or four or five runs. So, like, you know what a 72 loss feels like. The energy of the game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Not our day, right?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Not our day. That's what a 4 to 1 loss is in that last goal too.

[Dan Bernstein]

That guy. Is it. What's his. Is it Lukakuku?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Is that the old guy?

[Dan Bernstein]

Lukaku, yeah. Old and fat. He's apparently a legend because I asked my soccer people about him and they said that he is a. He's the Belgian goat.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he got in at the end because they just wanted him in the game and he was doing stuff out there. That guy, he has back of head fat. Back of head fat's cool. Like, that's a dude, right? There. And you could see. I didn't know who he was. Like, oh, this guy's pretty talented. But I guess he's still on this team just because it's his last shot and they put him in the game and he was clowning people.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Is that. Are you talking about Rome Lou?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Lukaka.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Lukaku. Yes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Romelu. Lukaku.

[Stacky Benjamin Show Announcer]

Yes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he's apparently a great Belgian star. And he just went to the game and he's buried that thing in the back of the goal. Here you go. Take another little something. And then they. They tweeted out, overturned this.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

He's only 33.

[Dan Bernstein]

Is he? He looks 53.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

That dude. But that's okay because it was. It was. It was sure fun to watch. And I kept laughing every time they said, Vrakan. Pete Vanaken. He owns the Peoria Chiefs. Longtime friend of mine, Pete Vanakin. Hey, look at that guy. Wow. What is the defender doing? Okay, so the goalie loses the ball. Go like, oh, shit. Oh, no. Uh oh, I screwed up. I'm outside the box. I'm standing out here. I don't know why I'm here. And now I don't have the ball. And the other team has the ball. And Tim Ream says, don't worry, I'm standing right at the penalty spot, and I've got it, and the ball's being kicked directly at me. I'll keep it out of the goal. Oh, wait, I'll just do this and run over here and flail my leg at it futilely. It's. It was. It was brilliant. In its epic comedy. Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Your guy, Lukaku, he's 33, 6, 3 2, 25.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, he's not.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Plays for team Napoli in the Italian series.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

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[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Lots of pizza to say.

[Dan Bernstein]

Might want to go to a different city. Lucky guy might want to go.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

How lucky can one guy be?

[Dan Bernstein]

It's like the guy on the boat that I see down there.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, your boat guy. Dude.

[Dan Bernstein]

There's a dude with this giant, like, you know, Chicago yacht, and he's always out there with no shirt on, his big bellies yelling at like the harbor assistants. And he's playing like a Mike north soundtrack.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's at the top of Martin, top of Dusable Harbor.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I'm telling you, like, bunch of bikini clad bunnies.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, not in his boat. That's the other boat.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, it's the other boat.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's the boat with the weird looking guy with the dark mustache and the blonde hair.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Ooh, it's a good look.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's got feathered, parted down the middle. Blonde hair and a dark mustache. And there's always like Instagram models on there. I don't know what they're doing.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Other guys by himself?

[Dan Bernstein]

No, the other guy's by himself, except he finds people to yell at. And the music is. It's like literally when the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie. Like, really? And he's got big Italian flags on the front and the back. And the other day I was fishing right in front of him and he was on the phone yelling at somebody and it was Rosemary Clooney's Mambo Italiano.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, seriously? Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

How you kiss it. The chigida happy in the feats of hey, Mambo.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

It's not really great boat music, though.

[Dan Bernstein]

Hey, it was for him, okay? It is for him. He's got. That's his boat music.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

It is.

[Dan Bernstein]

Ain't that a kick in the head? And it's good look. So, yeah, I would say to Lukaku, maybe, maybe Naples isn't your best bet. So. But that's just for him. So at the end of the game, like I say, Telemundo, they're about the game. They're not here to be glazing American soccer or telling you what you should think. They're just calling the game. And they were pretty harsh, too, at one point, I think. I didn't have the captions on. I think I translated properly when they mentioned The. They mentioned Pulisic about at the 22 minute mark. And Andy said something like, well, we're here at the 22 minute mark. We haven't mentioned Christian Pulisic yet. Oh, boy. Okay. Or something like there's a touch from Pulisic. We haven't mentioned him in the first 22 minutes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah. And then, well, he left the game with, I think, like 30 minutes to go.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. He was done. And then he's like, well, okay, whatever. Yeah, that was.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

That was. Was he injured or did he just.

[Dan Bernstein]

They said he was okay. You never know with these guys. Yeah. Because they milk every injury. They lie down there for an hour and a half and then they bring out the stretchers and all that.

[Progressive Truckers Insurance Announcer]

I don't know.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I don't know if he was hurt. I just thought, man, you got 30 minutes to go, dude. And this happens every four years.

[Dan Bernstein]

Get up.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Let's get out there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Get up, Demar. And then Fox is begging people not to leave the broadcast.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

They asked us.

[Dan Bernstein]

I never heard a broadcast be that is just nakedly frightened of you somehow leaving. Like, they sounded terrified.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Stay with us here.

[Dan Bernstein]

Stay with us here. Lots of time left. It's a great sport. Lots of time left. And even though the US Is probably gonna lose to the World cup and keep watching. Keep watching. What promises have they made to sponsors? What promises about, like, because most people are gonna tune out now. Most people will be gone. And they know that you didn't know that going in. But like the panic. The panic that you heard from. Still keep watching and great things will happen on your television and I'll come over and give you a back rub and I'll give you five dollars and everything somehow will be fine. And candy. Candy will bring you candy. Come on, guys. Like, have some dignity. Have a shred of dignity. Do your damn jobs. Like, I don't know how you can get through the rest of that game without. Without laughing at that goal. It is. You have no sense of humor and no appreciation for comedy in sports because that is right there. That is there with Jose Canseco with the ball off his head. That is there with the butt fumble. That's the World cup in your favored at home. And that happens. That's the kind of thing you see. And thankfully, neither one of my kids played soccer, so I never had to deal with any of that. I'm so glad that I never had to deal.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

My guys did it like five and six, maybe seven.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he. Jason did a little indoor thing and he's like, I don't want to play soccer anymore. I said, why? He said, one, I'm terrible at it. Two, I hate it. Like, those are very good reasons. Those are really. And I see, you know, we don't

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

give it one more season, son.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I didn't want to, you know, raise a. Like, if he hadn't found his passions at that point for baseball and hockey, I'd say, well, you got to pick a sport. You got to do something. You got to play a musical instrument. You got to play a sport, whatever it is. So I let the soccer thing go. He's like, but, dad, you played soccer. I'm like, yeah, I didn't like it either. So I played it. It was just kind of boring. I was thinking about baseball the whole time. But, man, okay. Just a wonderful evening for U.S. soccer, whatever it means to you, I guess. And I think I'll watch a little more. I'm not going away.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, no, I will. I definitely will. And I'll be more interested in watching nations that can actually win. The whole thing. Yeah, that's more entertaining.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, better. Soccer is more entertaining, probably. And yeah, I'm. The thing is, though, when Fox is like, don't go away, don't go away. I wasn't there to begin with. Because Telemundo does a better job of showing you the game. Maybe it'll be better now that maybe Fox's production will be better without all the jingoism, without all of the. Maybe they'll just talk about how great it is to have soccer in the United States. But it is a. The desperation is so off putting that the. Please, like my sports stuff. The desperation is just palpable and off putting. They don't do that on Telemundo. They're just calling the game. They're showing you the game. They have opinions about the game. The broadcast is about the game. And I'll. I'll keep watching so Fox doesn't have to worry. I wasn't there anyway.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, in the bracket right now. So Argentina and Egypt, they play this morning. So I have that recorded at home.

[Dan Bernstein]

Put it on.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, yeah. Well, it's in 25 minutes.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

Okay.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Switzerland and Colombia so that those the winners will get in there into the round of eight. So right now you have France and Morocco, Spain and Belgium and Norway and England. And I'm telling you, outside of Argentina, man, I am going to watch every second of Norway just to watch that dude play.

[Dan Bernstein]

Erling Holland.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he's quite the dude, man.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

And if I can get a Norway, Argentina Matchup. And watch Holland and Messi on one screen. That's gonna be fun.

[Dan Bernstein]

Norway's just got great colors to. The uniforms are so cool. It reminds me of the red and the blue from the. Or at least the red of Montreal Canadiens, which is. Looks great on those guys.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

The fans have been great like this. Like the Scottish fans, they do the.

[Dan Bernstein]

With the rowing thing. But Holland, man, he just. He runs through people.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, he's a beast.

[Dan Bernstein]

He is an. And you sent me the video of him having a bite of a Katz's pastrami sandwich for the first time.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

And apparently a very clean eater doesn't eat fast food, junk food, doesn't eat garbage. But that bite. And you saw that. You've seen that look before when someone has Katz's for the first time, the

[Dan Bernstein]

Katz's pastrami sandwich, and he took the correct bite. Like, he went right in the middle of that half a sandwich.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

That's awesome.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he started laughing. Like, the joy on him. He didn't make a fit. He just. He was so overwhelmed with endorphins and joy. He almost.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Because he never had anything like that.

[Dan Bernstein]

He didn't know how to process it. Well, Norway's not exactly known for their cuisine, but good for him for being

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

in New York and getting a Katz's sandwich. Let's go.

[MyBookie Announcer]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not sure, like, what went into making him in what lab they created that dude because he doesn't look real.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Remember what we said yesterday? He would have been the fourth or fifth fastest player in the NFL.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Yeah.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And he's 6, 5, 2, 15. It's insane. And, yeah, wild. Wild stuff. Crazy stuff. But, yeah, just don't. Don't. The moment you start begging me to watch your sport and your channel, like, please, please don't leave. It's like.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Well, not. Not only that. I mean, the. The fact that what Agent Orange did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's a different.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Really, really drew the entire globe against that team in that game.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, he touches something and it expires immediately. It dies. It just withers and dies. And, you know, you talk about. You can blame me taking the fun out of stuff, but y. About the absolute vacuum of. Of joy ruining everything somehow. There's no good way. And maybe it did affect the team. I don't know if it does, because they got to think, oh, is this guy playing? Is it not? Is the world against us? What do I say? Do I say I'm glad he's playing? And then are people mad at me? So.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Well, everything online indicated that the world was against the US Team yesterday. It seemed like half of. Well, half of the Americans were.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, they won me. They. Look, they won me over. That is an all time sports comedy moment, especially considering the context.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Just like favored at home.

[Dan Bernstein]

Favored at home, everything. Writing. This is the chance for them to break through for the first time since Landon Donovan and whenever.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

And no, also quick reminder, too. How many World cups have the US women's team won?

[Dan Bernstein]

Three, four, I think.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

So I know the last one was 99, right? That was a bit ago, but.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but they're all. They always win. They're always considered a contender, like an actual contender. But they had to. What do they have to sue to be treated the same way? Like equal quality of travel and all that stuff. Because people say they aren't as important. Okay, well, he kicked the ground. He kicked directly into the ground. He just. I got it. That's all right. I'll come out here. Watch this. Look at my range. Oh, I'm out here. I'll just chest it down and I'll kick it right to my foot and then. Oh, no. Oh, I kicked. I don't have the ball. Oh, it's okay. You get. You got that? Stop it, Tim.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

All right, my bad. Sorry. U.S. women's Team 91, 99, 15 and 2019.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, that's good.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, that's very good. Congrats.

[Dan Bernstein]

Congratulations. Well done. And if you are continuing to watch the World cup, and you should, you can bet on it, too. There's all kinds of ways to make it fun. Just don't listen to me when I. If I mention again that a mismatch like that is going to end in penalty kicks. But you can, if you want, spend hours breaking down tactics and lineups. You can get all of the latest information, or you can ask a much simpler question. Will both teams score? That is a great bet available for you right now in my bookie. Then, no injury reports, no pretending you watch qualifying matches from six different confederations. Just one of the biggest sporting events in the world. You can be there with my bookie.

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[Dan Bernstein]

Apply the promo code DBU will get you a deposit bonus and up to $500 in protection on your first bet at my bookie. The code again, dbu. And remember, once you see that bet on screen, will both teams score? Or once it happens, I should say you'll see the bet when you make the bet. Once it happens, the bet's gone. So use the code, DBU. Get that $500 of protection. And it's only at my bookie.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Quick update on the butt fumble. Yes, Mark Sanchez, his. The final pre trial pretrial conference is scheduled for tomorrow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, it is?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yes. Plea deal seems very possible. Sanchez, of course, would want one. Even if he testifies, what can he say? He told investigators at the time of his back alley fight with the 69 year old truck driver that he didn't remember anything. So what's he gonna get on the stand and all of a sudden remember things? So he's. Yeah, I bet. And apparently it's been delayed multiple times. So I'm sure that they're hoping to

[Dan Bernstein]

get some kind of a resolution ahead of time.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Plea deal. A plea deal for sure. Besides, the prosecution has identified more than 50 pieces of video evidence from surveillance cameras that tracked the action from the evening in early October as Sanchez strolled through the streets of Indianapolis, apparently after leaving St. Elmo's. Video helped the investigators determine that the version told by. By Perry Toll, who explained that he stabbed Sanchez in self defense, was very accurate. It's why Sanchez was charged with multiple crimes and why Toll was charged with none. So yeah, that. That pre trial conference is set for tomorrow.

[Dan Bernstein]

Look, be careful with the central Indiana shrimp. It can make you. Can make you do things.

[Progressive Truckers Insurance Announcer]

Crazy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I think that's what it is.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I don't think he was dipping those shrimp in.

[Dan Bernstein]

In the horseradish.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

No, I think that was a different white substance.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, I see. I think he was.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Hey, that was. That was.

[Dan Bernstein]

Maybe he's a shrimp allergy. Maybe that's the defense that they're going to use. Much like the Twinkie defense that was used in the Harvey Milk murder. Yeah, what was the guy, Dan Smith, Was that his name that used the Twinkie defense? Maybe he can use the St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail defense. It just made. It's so good.

[Stacky Benjamin Show Announcer]

It's so good.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I was crazy.

[Dan Bernstein]

I just lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong. That's how spicy the horseradish is and how good your local shrimp are. Made me nuts. Yar, that man's nuts. Grab him.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, the wow. The criminal battery trial been delayed four times already.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's just like the Bears stuff in Springfield.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, boy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because we got to get to that, too. And I want to because there was a report last night that deserves some attention. Fox 32, WFLD. And remember, this is not a neutral reporting outlet here. Fox 32 is a corporate partner of the Bears.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, yeah. Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

They carry the Bears preseason games. They are their local television partner. They're the outlet. They have people saying we. They have people dressing in Bears stuff. What they do there is all pro Bears because they work with and for the Bears and they did some actual reporting. And I give their news side a lot of credit. And if in fact the business side didn't come down on them and they operate independently, good for them. I tend to not be an idealist when it comes to the way those things generally operate, that usually the money people will come over and squeeze and say, hey, take it easy on them. You know, we're partners. We got a great relationship with them. Don't go there. Well, they did. And they did the work on these supposed sites in Hammond that aren't really sites. And they explained that the 83 acres on one side of the interstate and then 100 some acres on the other side of the interstate. And they actually went through the issues of the fact that other people and other businesses own the land and some of that is federally protected wetlands and actual government land where the Department of Defense has a logistics base and there is apparently a large trailer park with over 700 homes.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yes. Where people live.

[Dan Bernstein]

Where people live. Yes. And they also. One thing Fox did, they sent a camera to the Hammond City Council and they had the actual testimony, I don't know, testimony, the actual comments made in the city council. Part of their record. I'm not saying they're taking oaths, but it is part of their local record that Tom McDermott, the mayor of Hammond, was being asked some pretty pointed questions about what's happening with this supposed attraction of the Chicago Bears. And he was asked, did the Bears tell you when they were going to actually do this? When they were going to commit to the things they said they were focusing on, which we know is an elaborate bluff, not even that elaborate. And he said no, they didn't say when. So like, oh, oh. So the Bears have never told the mayor of Hammond when or if they're actually going to start building in Hammond.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

Because they're not. So we got that on the record. So there's no idea there. They're just making Stuff up.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, it gets worse, people.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, there's more. Yep, it gets worse because he also mentioned the support of the Indiana senators to their effort. I'm thinking, wait, whoa, whoa. Why do you need senators? And he explained, with this Bears Project, we need some heavy lifting from the federal government. Is this the first we're hearing somebody say that? What heavy lifting do you need from the federal government? Well, I mean, I know what it is.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Well, no, we've talked about it and we've known what it is, but it's never been publicly stated like that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, yeah, that heavy lifting. Yeah. There's laws, federal laws that say you can't build there and you have actual federal property there. The thing is, they're just gonna give it to you. They're just gonna say, oh, sure, it's a Department of Defense logistics base. Take it yours. Take it here. Well, the Indiana. And governments and taxpayers would have to buy that from the federal government if they wall. And by the way, you know, there's a lot of ways, you know, somebody's stupid. Using the wrong. You know, there, There. There is usually an indicator you're in your not knowing any of that stuff. The other indication is when people talk about imminent domain, you can't just. A state just can't declare eminent domain and just be like, oh, we're taking all this. Those deals take time and a ton of money. They have to buy all that stuff. They have to compensate the owners of homes and businesses. And who do you think is gonna pay for that? Porter county is just now kind of figuring out, oh, yeah, they're gonna. There's a whole tax here that's gonna be added to pay for all this stuff. And then a good job in the Fox News report mentioning that Wolf Lake has its own protections, and that is at the Wolf Lake terminal. That's part of the actual lake. And you're not allowed to just claim that area in the name of the Bears. It's not yours. But I found that to be immensely interesting and important that he said, well, with this Bears project, we need some heavy lifting from the federal government. That ain't happening. He then added, with something that I think he's gonna want back. And this was Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott. And it's. To hear an elected official say this. You talk about stepping in it. You talk about something that he's gonna wish he didn't say. He mentioned the stuff about people asking if they're gonna lose their homes, and he said, zero. No homes will be lost. First of all, I Don't know that he knows that for sure because there is that residential area where it sure looks like when you point to it and you look at that map, it sure looks like people are losing their homes. I could be wrong. That's what it looks like to me, that people are just gonna be kicked out because the Chicago Bears say they want to pretend to move there. But then he said if anything is taken, he used the word taken. If anything is taken, it's just a business and usually a very old business that's not going to break a lot of hearts if it goes away. The hell, man, Those are your constituents. So a very old business you can just take away. You can just take it. I'm going to read that quote again. This is Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott that he mentioned this at the City Council. He brought this up. He offered this. People have asked me if their homes are going to be taken. I said, anything is taken. It's just a business. And usually a very old business that's not going to break a lot of hearts if it goes away. Well, if you run a business, my guess is you're probably proud to have a pretty old business because that means it's a successful business for a long time. If you have a pretty old business, maybe it's been in the family. So if you're a business person in Hammond and your mayor feels that if you have a very old business, nobody's going to care if it just goes away. I would hope if I'm a business person in Hammond, I get a little better support than billionaire football owners. If I want my mayor of my city taking sides, and instead of taking sides with small business owners, medium business owners who actually have their businesses in Hammond, you would rather say, that's not going to break a lot of hearts, and let George McCasky let these silly billionaires come in and just take over land owned by your constituents because it's not gonna break a lot of hearts. What the hell is that? What kind of public steward of any kind says something like that out loud on the record, let alone thinks that, oh, yeah, they're old businesses, not gonna break a lot of hearts. I'd love to talk to those business owners and they know. They tried to call around, tried to ask some people. I'd love to talk, say, hey, did you hear the mayor says that if your business is taken, your business is old and it's not gonna break a lot of hearts if it goes away. There's a lot of people that own those tanks out there. That own the land, that own storage, that own all kinds of industrial facilities out there that are still thriving, viable businesses. Not in Tom McDermott's mind, that's just property that his city, the state, once they have all this help, as the cavalry for the federal government rides in to give them easements on all of the wetlands laws. What do you think people are just going to rewrite these things for the Chicago Bears? You think senators are going to use their political capital to help the Chicago Bears? Okay, want to go ahead and do that? It's always the taxpayer is going to pay the bill on this stuff one way or another. You're left holding the bag. Fine with me. Fine with me. They want to do that if I don't have to pay a dime for it. But I was really shocked to hear somebody say that. Here's one more point about all of these reports. This is. Chicago is a big smart city. Stop going to Mark Gannis. Stop asking Mark Gannis what he thinks about any of this stuff. Stop. Stop. It's lazy. It makes people dumber. It doesn't do anything. I don't know Mark Gannis personally, but he's a, that's an owner's side guy. He's a wealthy international deal maker who deals with countries and owners. It's always going to be owners, owners, owners, owners, owners. He knows all the NFL own everything is, what can I do to help somebody build a stadium? Oh, I want to. Oh, it shows that there. He knows better. He knows better. He knows what's going on. He knows the real story. He. But he doesn't tell you the real story when the cameras show up. So it is. Stop asking Mark Gannis what he thinks. The moment you do that, that's a sign that you are playing in the owner's game, that you want somebody on there who is just running interference for team ownership. Stop putting him on. Stop asking him what he thinks. He's making people dumber. He's saying stuff he knows is wrong. Cuz it's not that hard to ask about what's really going on. If I can do it, Mark Gannis can do it. Believe me, I'm an idiot. And if I can pick up the phone and say, hey, what are you hearing about this? If I can message people, if I can say, oh yeah, who's saying what about what's real here? Are they actually starting work here? Have they bought these permits yet? Are they doing the legal work? Have they decided they're gonna actually vet this and this and this and this? But Mark Ganis doesn't want to do that. He wants to spread all of the PR for ownership. And why somehow, I don't know why, every news producer and most sports producers, oh, well, we gotta get Mark Ganis. Stop. It doesn't make. It doesn't make. You know what? It makes you dumber. It makes you dumber because you're not getting the real story. You're getting a skewed version of ownership public relations. So there's that. Also, I didn't mention congratulations to Miguel Vargas on making the All Star team. That's a really cool story for a guy who's worked his ass off and he's only 26 years old. After the Copec trade that brought Vargas over, I had some people that knew the Dodgers, knew their system well, and they said, yeah, he. There's a lot of people here who just think he's never going to hit. And that's what I heard from some sources who knew what was going on there. They said, yeah, they think we kind of won that one because Vargas was probably peaked. He's never going to hit. Well, man, his numbers are even better the further you drill down. His expected weighted on base is 406. That's how hard he's hitting the ball. WRC plus a 138, the slash line 247, 363, 494 and a BABIP at 247. So he's this. He's not particularly lucky, but he is hitting the ball hard. And 3.3 wins above replacement. More importantly, and something that I like to look at, there are a lot of people who get most of their WAR value from one of the three components. The three components being base, running runs above average, offensive runs above average, and defensive runs above average. And when all three are positive, it's a really good sign. And he's had a hell of a year. And rather than bitching about Davis Martin, and remember, you're going to have people who say, like Mizarowski apparently can't pitch because it's in his rest time in between starts, you're going to have a lot of people who can't play. So my guess is Davis Martin will probably make it on there one way or another. I don't know if another a Cub could possibly find their way onto an All Star roster. Probably not, but that's going to happen. You're going to get your next wave. It's not quite like the Pro bowl where you look at third and fourth wave alternates that end up being promoted. But congrats to him because he has, in a lot of ways, really been the heart of this team. I give him a lot of credit for putting this together and defying certainly the scouting reports that I've heard. My bookie is your place for all of your World cup wagering. And the games now are big. These are the good teams now, you know that. So maybe you, you know these teams well. Maybe you've watched all of their various components play in their respective international leagues. And there's a lot of, a lot of $100 million guys running around there on those fields now that we're separating the wheat from the chaff. But there is a bet available to you that makes things easier. We don't have to know anything. And it's will team score. That's all it's available at my bookie. No injury reports, no deep scouting, just one of the biggest sporting events in the world. You can be there with that bet and my bookie with the promo code dbu. Make sure you use it right now to claim your deposit bonus and get up to $500 in protection on your first bet at MyBookie. Once you see it on screen, the bet's gone. Use the promo code DBU when you register. When you deposit, you'll get a deposit bonus. You'll get up to $500 to cover that first bet. If it misses at my bookie, it is only at MyBookie. We've got some congratulations to give out here because I told you that we had our winners for the June rewards drawing that we do at 312Sports and the 312Sports app. You got to get that app. It is free. The 312 sports apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play. And here are the giveaways.

[Progressive Truckers Insurance Announcer]

Now.

[Dan Bernstein]

If you hear, you don't have to email. If you hear your name, don't worry about it because we'll send you what you've got to get. I know some of these are digital. So our Ravinia winners for Joe Bonamassa. These are the people that have won tickets to see Joe Bonamassa on August 12th at Ravinia. Mark from Genoa, Mike from Elgin, Dave from Downers Grove, Craig from Pingree Grove, and Alan from Northbrook. Congratulations. The $100 gift certificate to Abba restaurant goes to Mike from Naperville. Congratulations, Mike. Happy birthday, Mike. And David from Chicago has won the $100 gift certificate to RPM Italian. And Robert, maybe he's a Bob. Robert from Chicago Ridge is the winner of a pair of tickets to Six Flags Great America. Now we've reloaded the rewards page. So you say, all right, well, I wanted to win rewards and I go in every month and I've never won. Well, now is your chance because for July, you enter the promo code Summer S U M M E R Summer on any of these rewards for a chance to win. What we have for you, we have a $100 gift certificate to Lil Baba Riba. That was my rap name. Actually. It's Lil Baba Riba and that's River North. It's the little sister of Cafe Baba Riba. You're a tapas fan. All the stuff you like. I like the cold veal slices. Love that. I like the goat cheese in the tomato sauce. So good. Maybe you like the patatas bravas or the bacon wrapped dates. There's a $100 gift certificate to Wildfire and a four pack of tickets to the Bristol Renaissance Fair. It's still going.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, we go every year.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you throw tomatoes at the guy in the stocks?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

The boys do. Okay, good. Yeah, we have a. I have a date on the calendar.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you never want to run into the 12U the baseball players. If you got somebody you know chucking tomatoes at you. That's no fun.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

That's no fun.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's no good. And you do the archery and the things. And there are some people there who really like it there, who are there like the whole time.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

We go mainly for the people watching. Oh, yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

And the turkey leg.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Food is. The food's good. The mushrooms, the turkey leg. Get yourself a sarsaparilla and you watch some people.

[Dan Bernstein]

You could buy a real sword if you want one too.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

You could? Oh, yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

They have all sorts of medieval weapons and things you could have there. Can you get one of the rubber helmets from Troy?

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

No, they only sell the real ones.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, they only sell real helmets. So there. So four pack of tickets and I buried the lead AC DC in concert September 4th at Notre Dame stadium. So if you can appreciate highway to Hell under Touchdown Jesus.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, buddy.

[Dan Bernstein]

So there's Touchdown Jesus, who is presiding over an AC DC concert where everybody's going to be making devil horns. The plastic light up devil horns that everybody wears and they are going to be singing highway to Hell right there.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, that'll be great.

[Dan Bernstein]

Be a lot of fun. You just enter the promo code Summer on any reward for a chance to win. Can I do it like a little non sports thing? That caught my eye.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Why wouldn't you Be able to.

[Dan Bernstein]

I can. I can do these things. I just. I found this fascinating to me. I've been watching more. A lot of nature stuff on tv.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Oh, really?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, there isn't sports. I don't know, because, like, if I

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

eat late, like, what are you watching?

[Dan Bernstein]

Like, I was watching something yesterday about this guy named Victor who got a submarine and he went to the bottom of this, like the lowest point in the Indian Ocean. And he had to have this special submarine that was made for him. And all they wanted to do was go to the lowest point in the Indian Ocean to just to do it, to explore.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

He's like a, you know, mountain climber, adventurer guy.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Did he get out and stuff or.

[Dan Bernstein]

I turned it off. I don't know if he made it or died or not.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

I don't know.

[Dan Bernstein]

You can check. Victor Vescovo. Victor Vescovo, Is that his name? Apparently, like a genuine adventurer. I looked it up and he's. He like went to Stanford and then he went to MIT and he went. He was in the Navy for 20 years and he's got no wife, no kids. All he does is adventuring. So maybe he's a little weird, but if you can. And he commissioned this sub. He was a. He's a billionaire and he made some gazillions of dollars and now he bought this amazing submarine.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, he made it. He did it. But this was April of 2019, so we're going back.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I don't know when it was. I just. It was interesting to watch. And the team he put together and I was. It was a perfect way for me to eat my giant grilled pork chops.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah. They observed what they believed to be entirely new species.

[Dan Bernstein]

I saw that. And there was something called an ass fish at one point.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Not seeing that. I'm seeing the snailfish.

[Dan Bernstein]

Snailfish. I saw the snailfish. But then they mentioned that there was something called an ass fish, but I

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

think that that gelatinous stalked ascidian. Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, they found a bunch of stuff, but it was. It was too deep for anybody to be fishing for him, so I wasn't all that interested.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Google ass fish.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it was a bony. Bony eared ass.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

You are not. You're not wrong. That's a bony eared ass fish and it is frightening.

[Stacky Benjamin Show Announcer]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

You don't want to run into that dude.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. It's small, though. I think they're only about a foot long.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Not interested.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, you're out. You're out. Matabatacola is out on the bony eared ass fish.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, so there is a. You know, sometimes you end up with like an email subscription that you didn't think you had and people start sending you emails. Well, that happened to me. 404 Media now sends me these really cool newsletters, all stuff from, like, tech and science journals and things. So a long time ago, on a lush tropical island, a population of hobbits. Hobbits ventured into a cave to scavenge the kills of dragons. You with me? This is not a Tolkien tale.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Is this real?

[Dan Bernstein]

This is an upshot of a new study about the short statured human relative Homo floresiennis, Homo floresianis, which lived more than a million years on the Indonesian island of Flores alongside Komodo dragons, colloquially known as hobbits for their 3.5 foot stature. Okay, so, you know, three and a half feet tall H. Floresiensis lived on the island about 1.27 million years ago, which is really not all that long. They vanished around the same time as the arrival of modern human, some 50,000 years ago. The hobbits have inspired much debate over their possible ancestry and whether they were capable of making fires or hunting big game. Based on the discovery of charred and butchered bones of the extinct elephant relative Stegodon in the expansive Liang Bua cave, which contains many hobbit remains. Now, researchers have cast doubt on the hobbits as hunters and fire wielders. Now this is where it kind of sucks to be one of the hobbits. They suggest they scavenge the Stegodon carcasses that had already been killed by the Komodo dragons. So if you're still with me, Komodo dragons killed ancient elephants, dragged them back to caves and ate them, and then the hobbits went into the dragon caves to scavenge the carcasses. The hobbits left marks on the bones with butchering tools. The team concluded they consumed the flesh raw because the charred remains were left by late arriving modern humans. So they debated all this and the arriving humans with the proper sized brains said, oh, this meat's undercooked and it's terribly under seasoned. I think Shane was with them. Actually. I'm not sure which of these. Shane, he's probably. He might have been one of the leaders of the modern humans. Cook meat, get sick.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Yeah, these are fucking huge, these Komodo dragons.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, well, I've seen those. I saw one at San Diego Zoo, was awesome. It came out like preened for everybody. Yeah, they're scary. Komodo dragons likely had primary access to These remains leaving behind only low utility elements for H. Floresiensis to scavenge, said researchers at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Ah, too woke. They're being too woke. They shouldn't be looking at this stuff because they're under investigation for wokeness. The team added the bodily proportions of the hobbits are, quote, unconducive for running and throwing. That would make the act of hunting large game in the traditional sense quite difficult. So the hobbits were short, slow, and they couldn't throw. They know this somehow from their stature. They're unconducive for running and throwing. So they couldn't hunt. They would let the Komodo dragons hunt for them. So I kind of smart, I guess they're hungry. I kind of feel bad for the hobbits. Maybe plant something.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

They were short and they couldn't throw.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, so they couldn't hunt. That's got to suck to have evolved. It's like, all right, we're here. Now what? Well, we're hungry. It's like Diego Pavlov. Maybe we're onto something here. You can see on 404 Media they have a facial reconstruction of Homo floresiensis. It does not look like Diego Pavia. I don't think you can check it out somewhere if you look up the facial reconstruction. I'd never heard of them. I didn't know because I always hear about Homo neanderthalus that was eventually out evolved by Homo sapien sapiens. And I guess they just kind of got the short end of it here and too bad. But I like this. I like this little newsletter from 404 Media and it gets me distracted sometimes in the morning with really cool science stories I wouldn't otherwise see. And I'm not going to unsubscribe. I didn't ask to be subscribed and usually when that happens, I unsubscribe.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

But I like it, so it's pretty nice. And that's it today.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

That's wild. And the fact that that story got us to the bony eared ass fish.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it did. Don't sleep on the bony eared ass fish, Tanya.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

Man, you got to look this thing up. Oh, boy, this is. This was not good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I don't think it's dangerous, though. It looks. It looks evil.

[Co-host (possibly a friend or colleague of Dan Bernstein)]

It looks terrifying. It looks like a fish that was swallowed whole, started to get digested and then spit back out a little bit and is still alive and fine.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I defy you to find yourself a production anywhere that is going to give you thoughts on the same day on US Soccer, on the city council, testimony of a local mayor regarding how much he dislikes his constituents owning businesses that he can just take from them. Because I'm not gonna break a lot of. Yeah, you're to break a lot of hearts. I'm taking your business. Get out of here, you suckers. And then we can conclude with the bony eared ass fish. Only on Dan Bernstein Unfiltered that is brought to you in partnership with my bookie, Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. Unfiltered on 312Sports.

[Stacky Benjamin Show Announcer]

What's the secret recipe to making money topics interesting? Think you start off by relating money to your everyday life. Like more vacations, more living, less worry about your next paycheck. And that's how we built the Stacky Benjamin show, the personal finance show. It's full of good times, great laughs and big lessons. Whether you're paying off debt, building wealth, or just trying to stop hemorrhaging money

[Dan Bernstein]

at the grocery store, we got you.

[Stacky Benjamin Show Announcer]

Find the Stacky Benjamin show wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Bernstein]

The greatest money show on earth now part of the Gamut Podcast network.